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What's your favourite lens for holidays/vacations

Just wondering what's your favourite all round lens for holidays/vacations - considering you'd be taking a combination of scenery, building, detail, people, and food!! shots, and well you know the drill, holiday photographs that you want to look a little more special than happy snaps.

I only have two lenses for my camera.

50mm f1.4 and 28-75 f2.8.

And yes of course I know I can use my legs, but I don't feel like that's enough zoom for holiday shots. Or is it??? Or do I need a bigger zoom to replace them both and only use that?

I get a hard time for not using my 'best lenses' especially my 24-70 f2.8 more often, but I end up using my 28-300 more when I'm traveling because I really can't be bothered with changing lenses when I'm on holiday/traveling. And I find lots of times I want to zoom in on things say high up, or 'discretely' take people shots, or sneaking up on my kids, and you need the zoom. I know that doesn't really help you choose between the lenses you've got though. It probably depends on where you're going too. We spent 5 weeks traveling last year and I used my 28-300 the whole time, I didn't even take the other lenses out. But I also have 2 young children who needed watching as well as not being very patient.
I'm going to be quiet now! - I'm rambling because I'm totally distracted watching the All Blacks beat the Springboks at Rugby

My only problem with the bigger zoom is that it's heavier and of course that's ok sometimes BUT I'm lazy. I dislike carrying around the big lens and I really dislike changing lens. (See lazy!!) I My 24-70 is my go to.

I was going to mention the weight of my bigger zoom being a problem too, but my 24-70 and 28-300 are just about the same weight - ie both heavy! So one's better quality and the other's better zoom - it's always a pickle to decide!

For vacations I like to pack light. My 24-70 is heavy, and adding her to my camera body, it's rather heavy to carry around. The nice thing about wide angle lenses for vacations, you capture more! Unless you just don't have enough room to back up.

Donna, that was an amazing match! Two trips to the blood bin for Sam Cane, who I think filled McCaw's shoes rather nicely. Just as assertive and physical as Richie, but not quite as much of a nuisance. I prefer Kieran as captain over Richie, personally. I have enjoyed the much more technical and successful scrummaging this TRC season but Saturday's scrums were a little chaotic.

I disagreed with the first yellow card for du Plessis but what can you do? Kieran's face when he got sent off for his yellow card was priceless . . . very exciting. I love how physical the Springboks play. Not a whole lot of the classic All Blacks offloading, which I love, but who cares! I was thrilled to see a kind soul uploaded the match to YouTube just a couple hours after the conclusion so I could watch it yesterday, and I wouldn't have known the score except I forgot to unlike Dan Carter on Facebook and I saw his post about his shoulder injury. Aargh!

Sorry to ramble on but I know exactly ZERO rugby fans here in the U.S. and if I met one, chances are they'd be a Wallabies fan (there is an Irish pub just down the street from us with two Australian bartenders).

Anyway, I use my 400mm whenever I am somewhere where telephoto will be necessary. Indoors I only have the 50mm 1.8 but I think I might be looking at something a little more versatile this year. I have had a hard time taking pictures this whole past year (I have very few) and as this will be my first Christmas without my mom, it will be a little more subdued and sad, and maybe if I had "new" equipment, I might get out of my photography funk. I would like to look into a much more wide-angle fast lens. Carol, what you have sounds just like what I want. Somewhere between my 18-55 and my 50mm, which is too telephoto for my house. I can't get any good shots and the lighting in my house (and my dad's house, and my in-law's house, wherever we might end up) is horrible.

I'll have my 70-300. You can always borrow that when it's not on my camera.
I would expect to have the 28-70 on my camera 95% of the time. If that was all I had I think I'd be wanting a wider angle lens for travelling rather than a big zoom. You can always make up for not having a wide angle by taking panorama shots with the iPhone.

So my weigh in here. I have some awesome lenses in my bag and yes the 24-70 is amazing and i use it a LOT!!!! but...... I have an 18-200 lense (not a big number lense at all IN $ OR fStop) but it does an amazing job for travel. It is light. It takes great photos for its calibre. I find the 24-70 is not enough zoom for me. the 70-200 is too heavy etc.

I have two Nikon bodies - the D300 and the D700. We took a trip to the Texas Hill Country this past April and I put my 24-70 f/2.8 on the D300 (great for indoors) and the 70-200 f/2.8 (big, huge and heavy) on the D700 and would grab whichever one I wanted. As much of a pain as it was, they both serve a specific purpose, but I have to say that our friends that went with us - he shoots with a Canon - it's not a DSLR but it's not a point and shoot - it has quite a nice zoom and I have to admit that it looked nice that he had an all-in-one camera and wasn't having to change lenses. We're leaving next Friday to fly to Kentucky to see our best friends - she and I have the exact same camera equipment, so I'm not even taking a camera body - I'm just take those two lenses and using one of her cameras. My husband is great about carrying one for me for the times I get out somewhere and don't know which one I will need. And I've started using my iPhone 5 more for pictures - especially pictures of us in a restaurant, etc. when I don't want to lug any camera in.

I use the 24-70 2.8 most of the time, I have the 70-200 2.8 also but I hardly ever use it because of the weight. I really should bring it more while traveling, there are so many times that I wished I had a zoom on! I guess it's all a trade off, you have to figure out what you prefer and how much weight you can deal with

I use my 24-105L most of the time. I love it for my vacation photos, because with the 105 you got enough mm for some detail shots. That's why I choose the 24-105 instead of the 24-70.
I also have the 50 1.4, but I don't use it that often. Only when I know I will shoot in darker places or need to play with DOF.
And the 70-300L I only use when I'm at the zoo. It's too heavy to walk around with during a vacation. I need a monopod when I use that lens. It's much much heavier than my previous non-L 70-300.